Last night saw the much anticipated Modern and Contemporary Art Evening Sale of Christie’s Hong Kong. The night covered many high-profile lots created by both Eastern and Western 20th-century artists, some blue-chip names include Zao Wou-Ki, Chu Teh-Chun, Liu Ye, and the star of the entire evening - the modernist master Sanyu. Hailed as the "Chinese Matisse," Sanyu’s Pink Chrysanthemums in a Basket was sold for HK$138m (US$17.7m) with premium.
The show-stopping artist also had his Goldfish presented in its standalone sale later in the evening and fetched HK$170m (US$21.9m) with premium.
[Please click here to see how the record-smashing work kept the momentum going.]
The sale had a total of 57 lots up for auction and received a hammer total of HK$702.3m (US$90.4m), surpassing the pre-sale low estimate of HK$587.3m.
The competitive bidding in the room, online, and on phones resulted in the exceptional sell-through rate of 96.5% by lot, with nearly half of the works sold over their pre-sale low estimates, and 15 lots in total made it past the HK$10m mark.
Lot 123 | Sanyu (1895-1966), Pink Chrysanthemums in a Basket
Oil on canvas
Painted in 1931
92 x 60 cm
Provenance:
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Johan Franco, Amsterdam, the Netherlands
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Private collection, Amsterdam, the Netherlands
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Anon. sale, Christie’s Hong Kong, November 27, 2005, lot 186
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Acquired from the above by the present owner
Estimate: HK$68,000,000 - 98,000,000
Hammer price: HK$118,000,000
Price realized: HK$138,110,000
The talk of the night was Sanyu’s Pink Chrysanthemums in a Basket. As soon as auctioneer Georgina Hilton announced the opening bid at HK$60m, the 10-minute bidding battle began. A determined bidder on the phone, represented by Eric Chang, Chairman, Asian 20th Century & Contemporary Art, brought the lot to HK$110m. But in the end, it was Vickie Sek, Chairman, Jewellery, Asia, who acquired the precious work for her client, as the hammer went down at HK$118m.
Following the tremendous success of the artist’s White Chrysanthemum in a Blue and White Jardiniere at Christie’s July sale, there was no surprise that the present piece was the scene-stealer this fall. The deliberately untreated spaces and forms bring a sense of juxtaposition to the painting, also contributing to the depth of the composition. The soft lines add a gentle wash of white around the chrysanthemums as if they were to create an elegant halo of light popped against the dark background with an ethereal elegance.
White Chrysanthemum in a Blue and White Jardiniere | oil on panel | 110 x 60 cm
Sold for HK$191,620,000, Christie's July 2020
Here are the first and second runner-ups of the night:
Lot 119 | Zhang Xiaogang (B. 1958) Bloodline Series The Big Family No. 2
Oil on canvas
Painted in 1995
180 x 230 cm
Provenance:
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Hanart TZ Gallery, Hong Kong
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Collection of Oliver Stone
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Anon. sale, Christie's, Hong Kong, November 30, 2008, lot 2618
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Acquired from the above by the present owner
Estimate: HK$38,000,000 - 48,000,000
Hammer price: HK$83,000,000
Price realized: HK$98,035,000
The second top lot comes from Zhang Xiaogang. The opening bid of Bloodline Series The Big Family No. 2 was HK$30m and the lot received close to 30 aggressive bids from attendees in the room and phone bidders. The bidding progressed fairly quickly and finally realized HK$98m with premium. It at the same time, created a new record for the artist. The work was sold to a phone bidder represented by Jacky Ho, Head of Evening Sale and Vice President of the Asin 20th Century and Contemporary Art.
The painting was one of the three from the Big Family series unveiled at the 46th Venice Biennale in 1995, and caused a huge sensation on the global art scene. The Bloodline Series The Big Family No. 3 went under hammer at Sotheby’s in 2014, and achieved a record-breaking HK$94.2m with premium.
Bloodline Series The Big Family No. 3 | oil on canvas | 179 x 229 cm
Sold for HK$94,200,000, Sotheby’s 2014
Lot 143 | Zao Wou-Ki (1920-2013) 15.01.82 - Triptyque
Oil on canvas
Painted in 1982
Each: 195 x 130 cm, Overall: 195 x 390 cm
Provenance:
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Collection of the artist
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Private collection
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Sotheby’s Hong Kong 40th Anniversary Evening Sale, October 5, 2013, lot 11
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Prominent private collection
Estimate: HK$70,000,000 - 120,000,000
Hammer price: HK$80,000,000
Price realized: HK$94,600,000
The second runner-up of the night was a triptyque by Zao Wou-Ki, 15.01.82, created in what’s regarded as his Infinite Period of the 1980s. The Chinese-French painter has created 20 large-scale triptychs throughout his career; but only four, including 15.01.82, have appeared at auctions so far.
While the hammer price of HK$80m was still within the pre-sale estimate range of HK$70m to HK$120m, the lot received only seven bids in total. What’s also worth mentioning is that, another work created by the painter, was one of the only two passes last night, alongside Chu Teh-Chun's L'espoire est né (Hope is Born). Could this be a sign that the craze of Zao's work is coming to an end?
The remaining highlights include:
Lot 150 | Zao Wou-Ki (1920-2013) 09.03.65
Oil on canvas
Painted in 1965
130 x 162 cm
Provenance:
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Private collection, Toronto, Canada
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Anon. Sale, Sotheby’s New York, May 9, 1990, lot 185
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Private collection
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Anon. Sale, Christie's Taipei, November 28, 1999, lot 12
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Private collection, Taiwan (Acquired at the above sale by the previous owner)
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Anon. Sale, Christie's Hong Kong, November 25, 2007, lot 213
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Acquired at the above sale by the current owner
Estimate: HK$60,000,000 - 80,000,000
Hammer price: HK$63,000,000
Price realized: HK$75,707,500
Lot 142 | Chu Teh-Chun (1920-2014) The White Forest I
Oil on canvas
Painted in 1987
130 x 195.5 cm
Provenance:
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Anon. Sale, Briest Scp. Paris, November 23, 1994, lot 41
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Anon. Sale, Ravenel Taipei, December 3, 2006, lot 59
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Acquired at the above sale by the present owner
Estimate: HK$35,000,000 - 55,000,000
Hammer price: HK$35,000,000
Price realized: HK$42,250,000
Lot 135 | Leonard Tsuguharu Foujita (1886-1968) Nu sur un lit, avec un chien (Reclining Nude with A Small Dog)
Oil on canvas
Painted in 1921
89 x 116 cm
Provenance:
- Private collection
- Anon. Sale, Sotheby & Co., New York, April 15, 1970, lot 71
- Acquired at the above sale by the present owner
Estimate: HK$10,000,000 - 15,000,000
Hammer price: HK$31,000,000
Price realized: HK$37,450,000
Lot 144 | Chu Teh-Chun (1920-2014) No. 195, Avant Le Printemps (Before The Spring)
Oil on canvas
Painted in 1965-1966
146 x 114 cm
Provenance:
- Private collection, Paris, France
- de Sarthe Gallery, Hong Kong
- Acquired from the above by the present owner
Estimate: HK$30,000,000 - 60,000,000
Hammer price: HK$30,000,000
Price realized: HK$36,250,000
Lot 122 | Sanyu (Chang Yu, 1895-1966) Chrysanthèmes blanches (White Chrysanthemums)
Oil on canvas
Painted in 1929
46 x 27 cm
Provenance:
- Henri-Pierre Roche, France
- Private collection, Paris, France
- Anon. sale, Christie’s Hong Kong, November 28, 2010, lot 1065
- Acquired from the above sale by the present owner
Estimate: HK$10,000,000 - 15,000,000
Hammer price: HK$19,000,000
Price realized: HK$23,050,000
Lot 149 | Zao Wou-Ki (1920-2013) 18.03.68
Oil on canvas
Painted in 1968
95 x 105 cm
Provenance:
- Frank Perls Gallery, Los Angeles, USA
- Private collection, USA
- Private collection, Asia
- Anon. Sale, Christie's Hong Kong, May 30, 2015, lot 57
- Acquired at the above sale by the present owner
Estimate: HK$20,000,000 - 32,000,000
Hammer price: HK$18,000,000
Price realized: HK$21,850,000
Auction Summary
Auction house: Christie’s Hong Kong
Sale: Modern and Contemporary Art Evening Sale
Date: December 2, 2020
Lots offered: 57
Sold: 55
Unsold: 2
Sell-through rate: 96%
Sale total: HK$844,925,000